IRIS is a multimedia theatre movement work, premiering in Spring 2010. It is
an experiment, an evening-length piece being developed through residencies
and work in progress showings; equipment borrowed from Digital Performance
Institute is being used to explore the visuals.

The character IRIS, her predicament and her inner world are developing
through improvisation, which started with a black wig, a colored tie, and
then movement. How to relate the content of the movement to the content of
the visuals is a continual question. What do I want to say. How do I say it?

In the first of four sections, there is at various times the sounds of birds
and dogs barking. A window, which had always been part of the piece in my
mind, soon appears on the back wall, and moving branches come and go. The
props in IRIS¹s bedroom include large purple bras and high heels, as she is
exploring her feminity, sexuality, power. I have experimented with various
types of imagery. This includes images of a Victoria Secret catalogue which,
through the program Isadora, enlarge & reduce areas of the images through a
fisheye lens ... to a large bra, surrounded in color, in which one layer of
the bra expands and contracts with the movements of the performer ... to a
single bra tumbling out of a light, turning and expanding until it overtakes
the screen and disappears.

The character¹s projected shadow is something I am very interested to
explore further. Briefly I worked with a patch for Isadora, supplied by Hal,
which allows the projection to come from either stage R or L, creating a
different relationship of character to shadow.
 
In preparing for a showing at Joyce Soho through Dance Performance Mix, Feb.
2008, I am grateful for the support Hal and DPI has given my project, and
look forward to continuing this relationship.

Cynthia Berkshire